1. Field of the Invention
The embodiments of the invention generally relate to a canister air filter and methods for fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Canister air filters may be employed for a variety of uses, including industrial dust collectors. In many dust collectors, the canister air filter is mounted in a substantially horizontal orientation to facilitate the removal and replacement of the filters once the operational life of the filters has been exceeded. In a horizontal orientation, i.e., a filter orientation wherein the center line of the canister air filter is substantially horizontal, the filtration media exposed at the top of the filter rapidly becomes coated with dust cake due to gravity and air flow patterns within the dust collector. The dust cake prevents air from passing through the filtration media. Thus, the top portion of the canister filter typically provides little or no air filtration in comparison to the remainder of the filter during substantial periods of normal operation. Some industrial dust collectors utilize a reverse pulse of air to remove the dusk cake, but the relatively heavier dust cake present at the top relative to the sides/bottom of the canister filter may not be completely removed during the reverse pulse, leaving the top portion of the canister filter in a partially blocked state reducing the performance of the filter. Since the filtration media is one of the most expensive components of the canister filter, the presence of partially blocked filtration media at the top of the canister air filter adversely affects to the balance between material costs to filter performance.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved canister air filter.